Stored diesel fuel or other hydrocarbon distillates such as jet fuel, kerosene, gasoline, and heating oil will begin to degrade in storage because of microbial contamination and fungi which grow in the fuel water interface.
It is essential that the fuel used in fuel injected internal combustion engines and jet engines be free of water, algae, and other contaminates. When fuel is stored in bulk or in a vehicle, boat, and aircraft fuel tanks, water droplets condensed from the atmosphere will form inside the fuel storage tanks and their ventilation pipes and will promote the growth of microbial debris. The accumulation of this condensation and microbial growth will eventually be ingested by the engine fuel pick-up tubes which are generally located somewhat above the bottom of the tank, and carried along with the fuel to the engine fuel filtration system. In the case of ships at sea and aircraft as they encounter turbulent and rough conditions, the accumulated condensation and microbes at the fuel water interface, which is located between the bottom of the tank and the fuel pick-up tube move about the storage tank so as to be easily ingested in quantities large enough to totally fill or saturate the engines filtration system causing the engine to stop.
In an attempt to eliminate this problem engine filter manufactures have fitted the filter cartridges with drains and sight glasses and occasionally electronic sensors to indicate the presence of water within the fuel filter. However, this remedy will not eliminate the growth of microbial debris within the fuel tank. A further attempt to solve the microbial contamination problem is the use of costly and hazardous biocides to attempt to kill the micro-organisms within the tank. This remedy however tends to clog filters with the massive influx of dead organisms. Additionally, these filtration units have inadequate capacity to remove the volume of water and contaminates that are ingested during turbulence and rough conditions. And further, these units only remove a small percentage of free water and very little emulsified water due to the relatively high velocity movement of fuel within the system and only operate while the engines are running.
This invention, for the first time makes it possible to coalesce and remove water, and other impurities, independent of the engine fuel filtration system by drawing fluid directly from the lowest point of the tank, and return it to the tank as a continuous closed loop procedure, thus eliminating microbial contamination within the tank, as well as eliminating clogged filters.